Review: Elementary 02 x 03 – We Are Everyone

October 11th, 2013 by BSB

A government contractor by day and hacker by night leaks government secrets to the media and then disappears. Sound familiar? When I said last week that Elementary was modernizing, going more high tech, I wasn’t wrong. What I am surprised is just how well timed this story aligns with the release of The Fifth Estate, the biopic about Julian Assange and WikiLeaks starring Benedict Cumberbatch. This is like some kind of bizarro Russian nesting dolls version of Hollywood entertainment where every layer you uncover just reveals another connection to Sherlock Holmes.

But it’s not just this single hacker who’s seemingly inspired by the headlines. Ezra Kleinfelter, the hacker in question, is a member of a collective going by the name “Everyone” and they have offered him protection. When Sherlock manages to infiltrate their ranks, he gets a few leads – including a potential home where the suspect may be staying, but he also attracts the wrath of the group. And while dozens of pizzas, annoying faux Craigslist ads and Joan’s hijacked dating profile are all bothersome, nothing is quite as bothersome has having the Secret Service arrest you for allegedly posting a blog threatening to kill the President. It’s a weird diversion, but it allows Jonny Lee Miller to dive back into crazy Holmes deductions – which was fun.

Of course, none of this threatens to stop Holmes and Watson in their pursuit for this guy. He loves Ayn Rand, leaked government secrets and is even a suspected murderer. The guys a live wire and just the kind of criminal that thrills Holmes. So when Holmes offers to share naked pics with “Everyone” as a form of penance for going after their guy, he uncovers an important detail to the case: he connects a username to Norse mythology which he then connects to a software product which he then connects to the creator. Turns out this guy was planning a flight from New York to Venezuela the next day. And that was no coincidence. This particular moment of deductive reasoning was so charming and well-done, I couldn’t help but grin. Because the hackers cut off the electricity, Holmes was making Watson breakfast over a fire in their living room, complete with hot tea. It was just damn adorable.

The crime is resolved sort of haphazardly. It’s still unclear to me why Kleinfelter had to go and murder the poor girl who offered him shelter while he was being pursued by the FBI, but the end of this mystery is honestly irrelevant to the trajectory of the show. It’s almost like the writers said, “well, we have to resolve this somehow and we had a lot of fun along the way – so we’ll just say the FBI stopped his plane in Miami. That way we can get onto the real point of this episode: MORIARTY.”

Yup. Moriarty is back! Jamie Moriarty that is. And technically, it’s just a voice over and a letter, but it’s effective. Throughout the episode, Joan toys with the idea of getting back into the dating world, which earns scoffs from Sherlock who insists that, “Real connection simply isn’t possible.” But clearly, his connection with Ms. Moriarty will be explored again this season. You won’t hear any complaints about that here.

In the final moments of this episode, Joan says Sherlock should date more. “I shouldn’t be the only one who knows you,” she says. And that’s the best thing about Sherlock Holmes. We all get to know him. In our own way. Through our own media. And through history – over and over again.

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Liz Giorgi is the Baker Street Babes’ Elementary Guru and runs the fantastic nerdy blog Being Geek Chic. You can find her former reviews of Elementary here on her site.

She’s a social media and web strategist who currently works for a communications consulting firm in Minneapolis. She’s also a contributor for Apartment Therapy andThe Mary Sue.

You can contact her at elizabeth@beinggeekchic.com and follow her on Twitter @lizgiorgi

One Response to “Review: Elementary 02 x 03 – We Are Everyone”

I really enjoyed this past week’s episode as well, though I was geeking out a bit because they brought Jonny Lee Miller back to his “Hackers” days (1995 film also starring Angelina Jolie). Very clever letter from Ms. Moriarty. Haha. Jamie.